Disaster recovery: argyle dress concept

Oh, the StyleArc shirt that I pinned together in the last post--I sewed it Thursday night and it was a bust.  That'll be for another post.

I have this theory, or perhaps it's more of a superstition, about fabric, that once I make a wadder out of a particular piece of fabric, that fabric is doomed--anything else I try to make from it will also be a wadder.

I really hope that's not the case with this fabric.  Here's a new attempt at using this fabric.

So on Friday morning I had the idea to make a vest out of the argyle Mood fabric. This morning I cut out the vest, held it up to me, and thought, hrm....dress???  But a whole dress out of argyle would be a bit much...and I don't have enough of the fabric anyway to make a dress now that I've cut it...so I google image searched "argyle dress" and from some of the pix, came up with this idea:

Right now it's basted together in a "I must know now before my head hits the pillow if this is going to work or not..." I can see where it needs tweaking, and I think I have some solutions. So I'm thinking, tmw morning I will rip it apart and properly sew it, fixing the little problems as I go....

It's not quite a frankenpattern--it's not combining two patterns--it's more like a mutant of one pattern.  It's  NewLook 6071, but the upper front and top of the upper skirt are morphed to what you see here.

I really hope it works out. 

Be well and good night!

Style Arc Demi Drape top version 2.0, now in progress

So at the very end of last year, I sewed the Style Arc Demi Drape top. It's a great top but that inset is just too low for my taste. I wound up wearing it with a cami under the cami inset because it's just so low.

Tonight I cut out the next version, this time with an argyle double knit from Mood and brown double knit from Joann's.   I cut the inset about an inch and a half higher.

In the picture it is just pinned, and I'm thinking of recutting the inset so that the diamond smack dab in the middle is turquoise instead of brown...what do you think?

Also I am hot on the trail of some white pin dot on navy fabric to make a super super super cute Burda dress. I bought this swiss dot fabric on etsy more than a month ago. It was listed as being from the 60's, estate find kind of fabric.  I asked all sorts of questions about the fabric before buying it (is it see through? does it wrinkle if you scrunch it in your hands?).

 I also asked if it smells.  The seller said she can't smell.  I can verify, it smells.  Smells so much, I don't want to wash it in with my regular clothes or towels or sheets or anything because I don't want that smell transferring to anything I own.

I would just get rid of it except it is really hard to find pin dot fabric that is not quilting cotton.

So it's been outside, in the elements, for more than a month.  Each week I go outside and smell it.  Finally it is starting to lose its smell.  The fabric has the sort of "tufted" right side (on the left of the photo) and the non-tufted back (right side). I'm thinking if I sew with this fabric, I might sew with the wrong side as the right side. (In real life, the fabric doesn't have that reddish circle; that's just my camera).

In other news, here's dinner tonight.  Chicken fried rice from Cook This Not That, roll and vegan brownie from Whole Foods.  I *love* the vegan brownies from WF.  I don't love their vegan chocolate mousse, but the brownies are delish.



My mini-daffodils came up on Thursday when it got really warm:

And the library books for this week.  Now you know where I'm going next!  Hopefully I'll get to see Vanessa while I'm there.


And to CarrieKaye:  I would have replied directly to you but your blogger profile is not public.  I'm so glad you got to meet Suede! He is incredibly friendly. and his twitter feed is fun too. Thanks for letting me know you got to meet him and got his autograph!  Share pix if you have them!

Be well everyone and good night!

Cacti: they're surrounding me!

Still no sewing--but I have highlights from Tucson!

So, I was at the University of Arizona for a work trip.
Here's a prickly pear cactus at U of A:

Saguaros in U of A's Cactus Garden:

Decorative cacti:

There was a paved trail next to the hotel that is alongside the dry river bed that fills up when the monsoons happen in the summer. It was totally dry the entire time I was there. 40's at night but 70's in the day. Perfect.

Good night, sun!

Friday afternoon we were set free. A colleague of mine and I went to Sabino Canyon in his convertible.

A tram ride takes you into into the heart of the canyon. Ours was narrated by a guy who loves his job. It was a riot, and a good way to draw a line under the work for the week and mark the fun part of the trip.

I don't remember what this tree is called; but it is outnumbered by cacti:

I love this to demonstrate just how many cacti there were:

We disembarked at tram stop 9, I believe, and started our little hike up the canyon:

Looking into the canyon:

Look at how blue the sky was!


Unsuccessful at pushing this boulder over:

My hiking companion Ron and moi:

getting an idea of the vastness of this place:

Dinner that night was at Cafe Posa Cosa, at Meg's sister's recommendation. It was not your typical Mexican; very cool.

The next morning I said goodbye to Ron and his convertible and hello to a Yaris.

First I went back to Ghini's French Cafe, for some crepes and eggs. YUM.
Before:

After:

Then I hit the road and drove to Saguaro National Park East:

Pretty amazing, right???

I hiked the Loma Verde Loop, a 3.4 mile trail, by myself. I can't say that was a smart thing to do, but I made it back in one piece.

This was taken on the Pink Trail Spur, ~60 feet elevation. That strip of shade was all the shade that was out there.

Pretty amazing view.

Cactus close up:

And even closer:

And closer still (different cacti):
 
So many cacti:

When they die:

Sometimes cacti look like people (or maybe Gumby):

I was surprised by the life in the desert. I saw (and heard) birds, flies, kangaroo rats (which looked like chipmunks to me, scurrying across the road) and even encountered two women on two horses while on the trail. Also, this bee made friends with me:

Did I mention, so many cacti?


I hope to sew next weekend. Maybe even cut something out during the week. Maybe. Be well and good night!